Oh absolutely. This was exactly me for the longest time. I review retro handhelds, so I’ve had everything from the entry-level to the high power ones (like the Odin 3 Max). I thought you couldn’t get better than upscaled graphics and save states, but when I got a re-obsession semi-recently with the PSP:
…I’ve realized that native hardware just has magic to it. The handheld is slim, the design is retro futuristic in the best way (in my eyes), the jailbreak and add-ons are invaluable and the experience is just fun. I’ve just reviewed the Retroid Pocket Nova, am reviewing the Anbernic RG SP, and have a couple more on the way, but that isn’t stopping me absolutely loving WipEout on my PSPs :)
You’re so right about the “magic.” The way you jailbroke the PSP was just the coolest. You hacked the battery! I remember doing that for the first time and I felt like a hacker—my friends looked at me like I was one too—even though I was just following simple instructions.
20 ish years later, I wanna get my hands on some more consoles but wanna try hardware modding to learn how to solder too.
The battery? Was that the first discovered jailbreak hack? Because by the time I got a PSP (~2012), the jailbreak was “copy this program to your card and run it on the psp”, which was about as idiot-proof as a jailbreak can get.
On the other hand, I did jailbreak my nintendo switch with the shorting on the right joycon using a bent paperclip. Lucky I didn’t brick it, though until it booted back into life, I was sweating!
I can’t remember when exactly I did mine, but I think we called it the Pandora Battery method. I’m our right now but I need to look it up when I get home. It’ll be an awesome trip down memory lane.
I’d highly recommend modding an xbox 360 if you’ve never done so. Very achievable if you’re somewhat technical, and you get to feel all the hackerman vibes because it requires soldering some wire leads to the motherboard and using a raspberry pi pico to read and write the nand. Most original xbox games also work if you install the compatibility files. So many incredible games from the 360 generation, and the consoles can still be found for around $50. Just make sure you get a “slim” model console because the phats don’t live as long. This site has basically everything you need to know. It’s an extremely good resource.
I did it on mine and it was awesome. I told my brother I could do it for him, sliced the foil and started a lithium fire in the house. Threw the battery on a plate and carried it into the front yard while burning out.
I adore my RG SP. I got it in the GameCube Indigo, for that little extra hit of nostalgia. I tinkered for a bit trying to get dolphin to run before giving up and realizing my steam Deck handles that better anyway. My recent obsession has been Emerald Rogue and Pokemon Unbound, two romhacks that have managed to reawaken that childlike sense of wonder I’ve yearned for recently with gaming. There’s just something magical about playing Gameboy Advance games on an SP, original or not.
Pokemon Unbound is the best Pokemon game I have ever played. It only sucks because now I’m playing through other ROM hacks like Pokemon Prism, Pokemon Brown, Pokemon Glazed (Unofficial patched) and realizing that they will NEVER be as good as Unbound was. That is the only downside to Pokemon Unbound! :-P
Oh absolutely. This was exactly me for the longest time. I review retro handhelds, so I’ve had everything from the entry-level to the high power ones (like the Odin 3 Max). I thought you couldn’t get better than upscaled graphics and save states, but when I got a re-obsession semi-recently with the PSP:
https://gardinerbryant.com/tag/psp/
…I’ve realized that native hardware just has magic to it. The handheld is slim, the design is retro futuristic in the best way (in my eyes), the jailbreak and add-ons are invaluable and the experience is just fun. I’ve just reviewed the Retroid Pocket Nova, am reviewing the Anbernic RG SP, and have a couple more on the way, but that isn’t stopping me absolutely loving WipEout on my PSPs :)
You’re so right about the “magic.” The way you jailbroke the PSP was just the coolest. You hacked the battery! I remember doing that for the first time and I felt like a hacker—my friends looked at me like I was one too—even though I was just following simple instructions.
20 ish years later, I wanna get my hands on some more consoles but wanna try hardware modding to learn how to solder too.
The battery? Was that the first discovered jailbreak hack? Because by the time I got a PSP (~2012), the jailbreak was “copy this program to your card and run it on the psp”, which was about as idiot-proof as a jailbreak can get.
On the other hand, I did jailbreak my nintendo switch with the shorting on the right joycon using a bent paperclip. Lucky I didn’t brick it, though until it booted back into life, I was sweating!
I can’t remember when exactly I did mine, but I think we called it the Pandora Battery method. I’m our right now but I need to look it up when I get home. It’ll be an awesome trip down memory lane.
I’d highly recommend modding an xbox 360 if you’ve never done so. Very achievable if you’re somewhat technical, and you get to feel all the hackerman vibes because it requires soldering some wire leads to the motherboard and using a raspberry pi pico to read and write the nand. Most original xbox games also work if you install the compatibility files. So many incredible games from the 360 generation, and the consoles can still be found for around $50. Just make sure you get a “slim” model console because the phats don’t live as long. This site has basically everything you need to know. It’s an extremely good resource.
Ahh, unfortunately I sold my 360 as it laid there unused for years. I might buy one just to mess around with it.
I did it on mine and it was awesome. I told my brother I could do it for him, sliced the foil and started a lithium fire in the house. Threw the battery on a plate and carried it into the front yard while burning out.
You’re not a true tinkerer until you burn at least one house down.
I adore my RG SP. I got it in the GameCube Indigo, for that little extra hit of nostalgia. I tinkered for a bit trying to get dolphin to run before giving up and realizing my steam Deck handles that better anyway. My recent obsession has been Emerald Rogue and Pokemon Unbound, two romhacks that have managed to reawaken that childlike sense of wonder I’ve yearned for recently with gaming. There’s just something magical about playing Gameboy Advance games on an SP, original or not.
Pokemon Unbound is the best Pokemon game I have ever played. It only sucks because now I’m playing through other ROM hacks like Pokemon Prism, Pokemon Brown, Pokemon Glazed (Unofficial patched) and realizing that they will NEVER be as good as Unbound was. That is the only downside to Pokemon Unbound! :-P